On March 12, 1664, New Jersey became a British colony as...

March 12, 1985

On March 12, 1664, New Jersey became a British colony as King Charles II made a land grant to his brother, James, the Duke of York.

In 1849, an ice flood in the Chicago River tore ships from their moorings and hurled them, along with blocks of ice, against bridges. The bridges at Madison, Randolph and Wells Streets were swept away.

In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Ga., founded the first Girl Scout troop in the United States.

In 1930, India`s Mohandas Gandhi began a 200-mile march to protest a British tax on salt.

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt held his first ``fireside chat`` on the radio.

In 1947, President Harry Truman established what became known as the Truman Doctrine to help Greece and Turkey resist the spread of communism.

In 1954, at a bridge game in Cranston, R.I., each player was dealt a perfect hand of 13 cards of the same suit.

In 1967, Indira Gandhi was chosen unanimously as leader of India`s Congress Party and became prime minister.

In 1969, Beatle Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman in London.

In 1971, Premier Suleyman Demirel of Turkey was forced to resign by the armed forces.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon, asserting executive privilege, barred White House staff members and former staff members from testifying before congressional committees.

In 1975, former Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges of campaign-law violations while with the 1972 Nixon re-election campaign.

In 1979, Sen. Lowell Weicker (R., Conn.) announced his candidacy for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination.

In 1980, John Wayne Gacy, arrested in 1978 for the murders of 33 men and boys in the Chicago area, was found guilty.